Case of the Mondays: LSU, Notre Dame See Combined Loss Total Hit Five

by Ricky Dimon - 9/26/2016

When the two programs are at their peak, multiple losses in a single season equal automatic disappointment for LSU and Notre Dame. It's not even October, and each team has already stumbled to such an ignominious fate in 2016. In fact, the Fighting Irish were already saddled with two losses even before this past weekend's festivities took place. They plunged to a new low by falling to Duke, while LSU thought it had avoided a second loss when the clock ran out on its game at Auburn-but it had to think again.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook.

Les Miles . Miles was about a half-second away from staying on as head coach at LSU. On what appeared to be the last play of the game at Auburn, quarterback Danny Etling found D.J. Chark in the corner of the end zone for an apparent game-winning touchdown. It was reviewed, however, and officials determined that the clock had expired before LSU snapped the ball. Thus, celebration turned to agony, and it was Auburn which had an 18-13 victory in its pocket. Less than 24 hours later, Miles was fired. The Tigers are -13 home favorites in their next game against Missouri.

Notre Dame . It was already clear that this is not one of Notre Dame's best teams in program history. And as for Duke, it has been several years since the program morphed from a laughingstock into something respectable. Still, it's Notre Dame. And it's Duke. And Saturday's game was even in South Bend. Despite being a three-touchdown favorite, the Fighting Irish lost to the Blue Devils 38-35 after getting outscored 10-0 in the last seven minutes. That led to another college football firing, although not quite to the same extent as Miles at LSU. Much-maligned defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder got the boot out of South Bend on Sunday. The Irish allowed 50 points in their opener against Texas, 36 to Michigan State (which scored six against Wisconsin), and 498 yards in addition to the 38 points scored by Duke. Notre Dame is a -12.5 favorite at Syracuse this week.

Cam Newton . Carolina's quarterback made a pregame statement with his shirt, which quoted Martin Luther King Jr.: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." But the only statement on the field this past Sunday afternoon in Charlotte was made by the Minnesota defense. Newton completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards with no touchdowns and a disastrous three interceptions. He at least scored one TD on the ground, but the Panthers failed to produce almost anything else in a surprising 22-10 loss. Carolina is +1400 to win the Super Bowl.

Major League Baseball . Baseball mourned the death of 24-year-old Marlins' ace Jose Fernandez on Sunday. Fernandez was killed in a boating accident near Miami Harbor. He was found dead along with two other men after their boat was located upside down at the end of a rocky jetty around 3:15 a.m. Fernandez was 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA this season. In his four-year career, all with the Marlins, he went 38-17 with a 2.58 ERA and 589 strikeouts in 471.1 innings.

Chelsea . After stumbling to a 10^th-place finish in the English Premier League last season, things do not appear to be getting much better for Chelsea in 2016-17. The Blues fell 3-0 to Arsenal last weekend, leaving them 3-2-1 through six matches and tied for seventh on the EPL table with 10 points. They are already eight back of undefeated Manchester City. In Saturday's contest against the Gunners, the Blues gave up two goals in the first 14 minutes and trailed 3-0 by halftime. Chelsea is 0-2-1 in its last three Premier League outings. Man City is a -155 favorite to win the league title.

Matt Kenseth . Kenseth was looking for a third consecutive victory at the Chase for the Sprint Cup event in New Hampshire, and for much of Sunday's race it seemed like that is exactly what would transpire. The No. 20 Toyota led 105 of 300 laps and was dominating the field with five laps remaining when a late caution brought the cars close together. Kenseth stumbled on the ensuing restart, and Kevin Harvick took advantage by speeding past him en route to victory. "I let Kevin lay back on me; we're supposed to be side by side," Kenseth explained. "I should have known better. I should have just went really late in the zone and wait until he had to get up to my nose, because he anticipated it just right and laid back." Now it is Harvick surging ahead to the next round of the Chase, while Kenseth must go back to the drawing board.

Dustin Johnson . Nobody in golf covers both ends of the spectrum quite like Johnson. When he's on, he can be the most dominant player on the planet; when he's off, he can be one of the worst. One of Johnson's off days came at the worst possible time during Sunday's final round of the Tour Championship, to the extent that it cost him north of $10 million. Leading the FedEx Cup heading into the playoff finale, the 32-year-old American obviously controlled his own destiny at East Lake. He found himself tied at the top spot with Kevin Chappell going into the last 18 holes, but Johnson carded the worst round of anyone in the entire field (three-over 73) and finished T6-seven shots back of Chappell, Rory McIlroy, and Ryan Moore. Johnson still would have won the cup if either Chappell or Moore had won the three-man playoff, but McIlroy beat Moore after an epic four-hole battle. That gave the Northern Irishman the whole enchilada: the Tour Championship victory and the FedEx Cup title. Team USA is a -180 favorite to win this week's Ryder Cup.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
Expert:	Tony George
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